Investigator Background and Depression Treatment (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for:  Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and Marriage and Family Therapists

Course By: Julie Laken Harnisher, Ph.D.

Content By: Cristea, I.A., Gentili, C., Pietrini, P., & Cuijpers, P. (2017). Is Investigator background related to outcome in head to head trials of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for adult depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 12(2):e0171654. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171654

Course Description: The accompanying article is a meta-analysis of 45 studies that conducted trials comparing the efficacy of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for adult depression. This study addressed a gap in the literature by assessing the impact of several key factors including investigator background, author affiliation, and financial conflict of interest on reported study findings. Resultant statistical analyses indicated significant trends favoring pharmacotherapy over psychotherapy based on investigator background and investigator conflict of interest (financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry). Implications of the investigation and potential areas of future research were discussed.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain why an analysis of the impact of investigator background on trial outcome in studies of adult depression was necessary in consideration of the state of the literature.
2. Identify 2 main goals of this meta-analysis.
3. Identify 3 limitations with the identified study findings and consider the implications of these limitations for future research in this area.
4. Evaluate the main study conclusions in consideration of the resultant statistical findings presented in the paper.

Course Outline:

1. Read and understand Is Investigator background related to outcome in head to head trials of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for adult depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
2. Read the Course Description and Learning Objectives.
3. Understand the relationship between investigator background and study outcome.
4. Work through the post-test questions; answer selections should be derived from the accompanying article.
5. Return to the referenced article for any missed questions and/or to further understand the impact of investigator background on the outcome of trials investigating psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy as treatments for adult depression.